Safer in School? The Impact of Compulsory Schooling on Maltreatment and Associated Harms

Adam A Dzulkipli; Nicole Black; David Johnston; Leonie Segal

doi:10.1162/rest.a.280

Safer in School? The Impact of Compulsory Schooling on Maltreatment and Associated Harms

Adam A Dzulkipli¹; Nicole Black¹; David Johnston¹; Leonie Segal²

¹ Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, 900 Dandenong Rd, Caulfield East, VIC 3145 · ² Health Economics and Social Policy Group, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2025

Abstract Abused and neglected children are at extreme risk of school dropout, poor health, and destructive behaviours, yet evidence on interventions that prevent maltreatment and its harms is limited. We use a South Australian education reform to examine whether extending the school-leaving age from 16 to 17 improves maltreatment-related outcomes. Using administrative records and regression-discontinuity techniques, we find that the reform reduced first-time cases of maltreatment reported to Child Protection Services (CPS). Among adolescents with past CPS involvement, it also reduced emergency healthcare utilisation. Our findings suggest school attendance can improve child safety, with an incapacitation effect as the likely mechanism.

DOI: 10.1162/rest.a.280
Pages: 1-40
Language: en
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